Loved this hike. Did it on a Saturday afternoon. On the portion of the trail along the creek, I came across 4 or 5 groups camping by the river. Once the trail left the creek side and started heading uphill, I didn’t see another person on the way up or down.

The trail is physically challenging for a relatively short hike, and in places the trail is slippery due to a bit of gravel on hardpack in steep sections. Even though the trail is in an area with a lot of burned terrain, the trail itself is probably 90% in the shade, so not a bad option for a hot day.

Finding the arch is slightly tricky. They key is knowing that you have to go over the summit and down the dome a few hundred yards.

Follow the cairns once you leave the creek side trail and you should be fine.

DO NOT TAKE TRAIL 626!! There is a trail before the Mt Rosa trail head called 626. This trail is extremely dangerous for hikers. We were shot at multiple times during this hike. The area leading up to the trail is also dangerous because people have makeshift shooting ranges along the road. The whole place has a bad vibe and there is a disrespect for hikers and the environment around this area. This place is not for people looking for a peaceful hike. AVOID THIS TRAIL!

While the trail is beautiful, winding through the woods up to a arid clearing and then into the woods again to the summit for a 360 degree view, I would recommend approaching the trail from Cheyenne Canyon instead. As mentioned by previous reviewers, there are many people using the area (esp along the 379 road that you add to your hike if you don't have a high clearance vehicle) as impromptu shooting ranges, destroying trees and leaving an incredibly disheartening amount of trash. Shots fired can be heard throughout the hike. While some of the people out shooting looked to be responsibly enjoying the sport, there were just as many groups who looked shady: teenagers smoking weed, drinking, and firing semi automatic weapons level shady. While we did see a sheriff drive by on old stage twice, the sheriff does not drive on 379. It was to the point where we saw multiple other hikers with their own side arms making my dad comment that he wish he had a side arm for the hike as the amount of unruly people along 379 was to the point of discomfort (case in point poor Zach's review below!).

Shooting ranges aside, the hike was 8.2 miles total starting from the lot on the left of old stage, up 379, turn off on 672 about 1.8 miles in (we missed the frosty park trailhead as it is not marked), and then heading up to the summit. In total it took my dad and I 4 hours and 26 min including 35 minutes picnicking at the summit. I would suggest bringing hiking poles if you have them for the descent. Personally, I found the hike a bit more rigorous than anticipated on the uphill but it sure made for a great workout! My dog loved it as well but the top can be pretty exposed in the heat so bring extra water for your pup!

If you drive to Frosty's park up 379 the hike is probably closer to 4 miles however the road has portions with enough dips and rocks that I didn't want to risk scraping the bottom of my 2005 Toyota Rav4. Vehicles that I did see make it up included pickup trucks and jeeps for reference. Keep in mind that if you select the 'directions' option, google maps actually tries to take you on roads that no longer exist due to reclamation. Ignore the turns and just stick to old stage to gold camp until you get to Rosemont-Penrose Reservoir and there will be an obvious widening of the road for a lot on the left. From the time you exit the neighborhood at the base of old stage road to the parking pull off below road 379 will be about 10 miles.

IF YOU TAKE THE TRAIL 626 shortly before the mount Rosa trail, you will be shot at. There are countless people in that area shooting rifles at the mountain tops and into the trees. After hiking for 30 minutes down trail 626, we encountered several bullets buzzing over our heads within ten feet of us. We were forced to scramble off trail and take cover because the person couldn’t hear our screams to stop shooting. Be very careful to not take any trail on the south side of Mount Rosa. You will be in immediate danger from gun fire. Also, there are extreme liter bugs in this area. It will break your heart to see all the garbage and destroyed trees. They use trees as targets. If you love nature and want a relaxing hike, DON’T attempt Mt Rosa trail and don’t approach from the Old Camp Rd. The road is in poor condition and takes an hour to drive up. FS Road 379 leads to Mt Rosa trail. Just GPS Frosty Park to find it. Be incredible carful and make sure you know where you are and what to do or you will hear gun shots and/or be shot at the entire time. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! There are “No Shooting” signs everywhere yet they all have bullet holes in them. The people in this area have zero respect for nature or human life.

We lost a dog about a mile up on Matukat road on the way to the trail head. He is a Newfoundland black lab mix and his name is Milo. He has Colorado tags, if you find him please call the number on the tags.

I hiked this yesterday; started at noon and finished a few minutes after 2. It was my second time on this trail. The weather was perfect and it was moderately challenging but had places of reprieve. The meadow just past the creek is so gorgeous and is filled with lush green grass, wildflowers, and tall sturdy trees along the perimeter. Once you make it to the split, follow the sign for Raspberry Mountain. It gets tough here. Very steep climb, but it’s shaded, so that helps. When you get to the large boulders, follow the trail through them and them hug the outside of them as you round out beside them. The trail seems to disappear a bit, but just stay near the rocks and after about 100 yards, you will see the rocks that you climb up to the top. The view is insane and totally worth the climb. The only drawback for me was the enormous swarm of gnats that cut my viewing pleasure short.

Our backpacking trip went counterclockwise, starting at Goose Creek, forking left onto McCurdy, left again at Lake Park, and final left at Hawkins Pass. Around 24 miles total.

Goose Creek trail was cool; there is a diverse landscape varying from mountain views to aspen groves to large rock formations. Plenty of water from mile 1 though 6 along this route for the backpackers. Can’t speak to further sections, as we created a loop with McCurdy.

We continued our trek that day into McCurdy (junction at about 6 miles into Goose Creek). McCurdy is tough, required lots of breaks for us as we are relatively new to backpacking and carrying +/-30lb packs. Decent water sources from the Goose Creek / McCurdy junction — for us, we filled up around our mile 8, mile 9 (cave / stream area), and close to mile 10.

All water sources are low, keep in mind we had a low snowpack this year, therefore streams and cave water are lower than normal. Related to this, there are fire restrictions in the area! Always a best practice during a hot and dry summer to NOT start an open fire. Bring fuel and a personal stove to cook. Don’t be that guy, the one who starts a completely preventable forest fire.

Tough workout, worth it to scramble over some big rocks and see a great vista. Would do again. True story, the trail is at times hard to figure out, but we followed the cairns, and our GPS when needed, got us there just fine.

This one is all about the views at the end, a worthwhile reward for (what feels like) a lot of up and down along the way. Know that you absolutely must scramble up the rocks at the top to get the full experience - we brought our toddler in a carrier and it wasn't an issue to climb up with an extra person to lend a supporting hand. I think I might have convinced my parents to make the move to Colorado after this one :) On a Monday morning, the trail was plenty empty - we only encountered two other groups along the way. Enjoy!

Amazing hike. From intersection of Penrose Blvd/Old Stage Road, distance to FS Rd 379 turnoff was 12.6 miles. The parking area is on your Left. If you chose to drive to the Frosty Park to Mount Rosa trailhead, highly recommend high clearance vehicle. Approximately 1.5 miles to trail head...very easy to find due to all the trash scattered about from irresponsible litter-bugs. Trail to the summit was spectacular due to great views and ease of climb, approximately 2.1 miles each way. Take rain gear as storms come in fast. Enjoy!

A good challenge but nothing too intense - the perfect balance. Stunning views at the top! We took family here that lives at sea level and it was the perfect hike for them to start with - nice and steady. Definitely bring a jacket for the top, it’s quite brisk!

This hike was amazing, but they weren’t kidding about the final road to the trailhead. We hiked the final portion because we didn’t want to risk it with our Honda Pilot. The road was easy walking and was 1.8 miles long. It was hard to pass all the damage done to the area by people who come out to target practice and leave their garbage everywhere... After that the hike to the peak was 2.2 miles so our total day was 8 miles. Good thing we packed extra. We were expecting 3.6 miles. We could’ve turned around whenever but really wanted to see the summit. It was well worth it. The last .7 miles were spectacular.

We took an unplanned detour off the highway to take the hike, mistake! hint - prepare, know the route, and don't rely on your smartphone's navigation app to get in and out. We didn't realize how far in it was. Actually, we passed it by and never found the trailhead. There is no sign for the trailhead, at least not off SRR 362 that we could find. Warning - FSR 362 is remote and we lost our connection Google Maps. It was no problem getting there, but there are a few forks in the road on the teturn trip and we git lost for 2 hours until a we ran into a nice guy 100 miles from nowhere who was there to do mining. With instructions where not to turn we made it out safe, running on fumes. When I got home I checked GPS from a photo and realized thay we had at one point made it to the trail but didn't know it since it wasn't posted. Maybe we missed the trailhead sign. If someone has a photo please post it. Perhaps it can spare others.

Went weekend of May 4th. Just passed the cabins we veered left toward what we called “hitchhikers thumb” and climbed all the way down to the creek. Tough decent, but well worth it. Out of earshot the whole weekend. Weather was OK. Low in the 20s overnight. Will definitely go back.

I read about this place on different websites so we decided to give it a go. We opted for an out and back overnight camping trip on goose creek trail. The scenery was nice and the trail was easy to follow. We stopped at a site about 5.5 miles in a decided to set up camp. It was a nice big camp site with a decent water source. There was a little trail across from our site that went up hill to a more secluded camp site with nice views of the mountains. I wish I would have noticed that site before settling in. Either way we had fun and would like to try one of the loops next time.

Good hike. Decent water, shade, and a few views. Didn't see any animals except for dogs. Pretty easy until you hit the side trail to historic buildings. Then there are some inclines but nothing awful. Found good camping and water 5.5 miles in. Trailhead parking lot gets full.

Concur with Santha... this description is wrong as it only accounts for the trail until it hits a side hike to historic buildings.

Very nice place for backpacking. Lots of creek along the path to refill water. Many disperse camping spots. Trail was moderate to hard. You can go out and back. You can multiple days where there is a short loop and a long loop. Very versatile.

I was slightly confuddled by this site and map 105. People kept talking about the "end of the trail," but the end of the trail is where Goose Creek meets Wigwam on map 105. Just for clarity, this hike is from the trailhead to the turnoff for the historic buildings (which are well marked). The 7.7 miles is just this portion of Goose Creek Trail.

The hike is ideal. The weather in June was in the low 80's, so although it was warmish during the day, night time really cooled off (and we had two small thunderstorms--one each evening--while camping out). We packed in, set up camp at the creek flowing to the historic buildings and then did a day hike up to almost where Goose Creek hits McCurdy (great lunch stop vista up there, btw, right before the trails hook up). Took about two hours from our campsite to make it up that far. Went through some of the prettiest Aspen old growth I've seen in a while. It was very refreshing. We crossed two streams on the way, so water was plentiful. After we returned to camp, we hiked down to the historic buildings and found a nice vista to enjoy our dinner. This is absolutely gorgeous country.

Truly enjoyed our three days in Lost Creek Wilderness and will definitely be back to do more of Goose Creek Trail #612.

This a great hike with amazing views at the top! There are some steep inclines at various points, so it will get your heart rate up. About half the trail is shaded and half not. We went on a Saturday and we only saw about 20 people total and the parking lot had spots open. Easy to get to and the trail was well marked the whole way.